The Steering Committee is the governing body of the Award. It is responsible for establishing the current eligibility criteria for nominated projects, for providing thematic direction to the Award in response to the priorities and issues that have emerged during the recent past, and for developing plans for the cyclical and long-term future of the Award.

For each Award cycle, the Steering Committee appoints an independent Master Jury. Jury members are free to select from the nominated projects, based on the Award’s eligibility criteria. The Steering Committee also provides guidance to the Award secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland on the programme of Award activities, including seminars, lectures, exhibitions and publications.

Projects for consideration in the 11th cycle can be submitted by completing an identification form, available online from the Aga Khan Award website, www.akdn.org/architecture.The website also lists detailed information on the eligibility criteria and submission procedures for the Aga Khan Award.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is presented every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, urban or regional design, conservation and landscape architecture. With a triennial prize fund of $500,000 the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is the world’s largest architectural prize. The Award has completed ten cycles of activity since 1977, and documentation has been compiled on over 7,500 building projects located throughout the world. To date, 100 projects have received the Award. The 11th cycle covers the period from 2008 to 2010.

Notes:
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is part of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which has a wide range of activities aimed at the preservation and promotion of the material and spiritual heritage of Muslim societies. As the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the Trust leverages cultural heritage as a means of supporting and catalysing development. Its programmes include the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme (HCP), which works to revitalise historic cities in the Muslim world, both culturally and socioeconomically. Over the last decade, it has been engaged in the rehabilitation of historic areas in Cairo, Kabul, Herat, Aleppo, Delhi, Lahore, Zanzibar, Mostar, northern Pakistan, Timbuktu and Mopti. The Aga Khan Music Initiative in Central Asia (AKMICA) supports the efforts of Central Asian musicians and communities to sustain, further develop and transmit musical traditions that are a vital part of their cultural heritage. The Museums Project coordinates the development of a number of museum and exhibition projects, including three ongoing museum projects in Cairo, Toronto and Zanzibar. The Trust supports the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and www.ArchNet.org, a major online resource on architecture in Muslim societies.

The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in Central and South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. AKDN agencies work for the common good of all citizens, regardless of their gender, origin or religion. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) – with its affiliates Tourism Promotion Services, Industrial Promotion Services, Financial Services, Aviation Services and Media Services – seeks to strengthen the role of the private sector in developing countries by supporting private sector initiatives in the development process. The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) focuses on rural development, health, education, the environment, and the strengthening of civil society. The Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) operates schools and educational programmes, and the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) runs health centres, dispensaries and hospitals. The Aga Khan Planning and Building Services (AKPBS) works to improve design and construction, village planning, sanitation and water supply systems and natural hazard mitigation. The institutions of the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) help underprivileged people expand their income and become self-reliant. The Aga Khan University (AKU) has branches and institutes in East Africa, South Asia and the United Kingdom, and the University of Central Asia (UCA) has campuses in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic.

Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance

Microfinance for Women in Northern Pakistan

Since its establishment in 2005, the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance (AKAM) has taken over 25 years of microfinance activities, programmes and banks that were administered by sister agencies within the AKDN. The underlying objectives of the Agency are to reduce poverty, diminish the vulnerability of poor populations and alleviate economic and social exclusion. more